What have the Brazilian male football team done for the country this Olympics so far? Not much, aside from frustrating millions of fans and irritating TV sports commentator Galvão Bueno. And scoring 0-0. Twice.

However, unexpectedly, the devastating failures of the Brazilian men have stimulated a radical new movement in sporting history: Olympic feminism. And the poster-boy for this new creed is a fed-up little fan who took his frustrations and aired them on social media.

The image in question, which went viral on social networks, shows a young boy wearing a Brazilian football strip. Except, where once read the words "Neymar", now angry black marker has scored out this ex-heroes name, and "Marta", followed by a love heart, replaces it.

In a video posted on Instagram, the boy says that the female team is a symbol of "feminism in Brazil" and that Marta "deserves the shirt much more than Neymar."

To the delight of the female team, hundreds of fans shared the post, making the little lad - and Brazil's Olympic football ladies - a social media sensation.

On Monday (8), the Judoka Rafaela Silva won Brazil's first gold medal, adding further fuel to the feminist fire.

Indeed, if the Olympics have always generated idols, the Rio Games stand out for the abundance of heroines.

It's not just Marta: the artistic gymnastics team have become the crowds' darlings and the Syrian refugee swimmer Yusra Mardini was awarded a medallist's celebration even though she did not come close to the podium.

"Sport is usually a macho domain: a men's only club. But the Olympic athletes are encouraging more woman to watch, get to know and even play sport themselves," says Maíra Liguori, director of the feminist NGO Think Olga.

But the manager of the women's football team, Marco Aurélio Cunha, is not so optimistic. He is convinced the women are only being valued because the men are playing badly.

"Scrawling Marta over Neymar seems to me more of a dig at the men than a celebration of the women," he says. "It's vengeance and not appreciation. To value the female side we need to talk about the integrity of the team, celebrate their achievements and development, not just compare them to others."

Translated by GILLIAN SOPHIE HARRIS

Read the article in the original language

	Reprodução/Rafael Rivera/Twitter
	The name "Marta", followed by a love heart, replaces the words "Neymar"